RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase1: A potential molecular marker to identify cancer during colposcopy procedures. JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO J Nucl Med FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP jnumed.120.253575 DO 10.2967/jnumed.120.253575 A1 Paula Demetrio de Souza Franca A1 Navjot Guru A1 Abigail R. Kostolansky A1 Audrey Mauguen A1 Giacomo Pirovano A1 Susanne Kossatz A1 Sheryl Roberts A1 Marcio Abrahao A1 Snehal G. Patel A1 Thomas Reiner A1 Elizabeth Jewell YR 2020 UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/early/2020/11/13/jnumed.120.253575.abstract AB Despite efforts in prevention, cervical cancer still presents with a high worldwide incidence and remains a great problem in public health, especially in low-income countries. Screening programs, such as colposcopy with Papanicolaou testing, have greatly improved mortality rates. However, the agents currently used to delineate those lesions (topical application of acetic acid and/or Lugol’s iodine) lack specificity and sometimes can lead to unnecessary biopsies or even cervical excisions. A tool to enable in vivo histology to quickly and quantitatively distinguish between tumor, dysplastic and healthy tissue would be of great clinical interest. Here we describe the use of PARPi-FL, a fluorescent imaging agent that targets PARP1, a nuclear enzyme that is overexpressed in cancer when compared to the normal surrounding tissues. We exploit its use as an optical imaging agent to specifically target PARP1 expression, which was demonstrated to be higher in cervical cancer when compared to the normal surrounding tissue. After its topical application on freshly excised cone biopsies, the nuclei of tumor cells emitted a specific fluorescent signal that could be visualized using a hand-held fluorescence confocal microscope. This approach has the potential to improve in vivo identification of tumor cells during colposcopy examination allowing a rapid, non-invasive, and accurate histopathological assessment.